'Chilling': Admitted child rapist gets 33 years

Esmont resident Thomas Jefferson Race estimates he could have violated as many as 37 children. MUGSHOT CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE

Thomas Jefferson Race pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sodomy in Charlottesville Circuit Court today, but estimates that his victims could number as many as 37 over 18 years.

Race, 34, was arrested March 24, 2009, after his first victim, then a five-year-old boy, told police 20 years later of his babysitter's brutal assaults.

Probation officer Jeff Lenert told the court of Race's "euphoric recall" in describing his victims. "It was chilling," said Lenert.

Race was 15 years old when he first raped a young relative. The other victims in the plea agreement were between 8 and 11 years old, and 6 and 7 years old when they were assaulted, according to prosecutor Elizabeth Killeen.

She described Race as an animal torturer and his attacks on children "sadistic," involving bondage, whips and weapons, including a sword. And while his first assault occurred when he was a minor, she said, he went on to other victims when he was an adult. "It's not something he grows out of at 18 or 19," she noted."

The defendant said he went eight years without molesting children, self-medicating himself with porn and scotch.

Race apologized to his victims, one of whom testified in court. "I know what I've done," said Race. "It's horrible. I do have things I can offer society."

As thunder rolled outside the courtroom, Judge Edward Hogshire sentenced Race to 40 years on each of the three counts, with all but 11 years suspended on each charge.

"I don't think I"ve ever seen a case wth this level of potential damage to children," said the judge.

Killeen notes that there may be other victims who have not been identified, and she urges them to come forward to receive help.

I KNOW FRIENDS AND PEOPLE THAT GROW IN CHARLOTTESVILLE,VA.BEEN LOCKUP MOST OF THEIR LIVES CAUSE THEY DIDNT NEVER WONT TO DO RIGHT STILL SEE A FEW OF THEM ONE THING YOU DONT GO IN PRISON FOR MOLESTORING A CHILD A THEY THINK LIKE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN THEIR SONS OR LITTLE GIRLS PRICE YOU GOING PAY WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT AT NIGHT 6 BIG GUYS GETTING THEIR SALADS TOSS.

Gasbag Self Ordained Expert April 26th, 2010 | 6:56pm

No way, Ken! I would much rather see how many days of a 12,045 day sentence in prison he can survive as a convicted child molestor. It's a whole lot worse than the death penalty. :)

Can you imagine 12,045 days in prison?

County Farmer April 22nd, 2010 | 7:07am

George, you need help and spellcheck.

County Farmer April 21st, 2010 | 5:54pm

Unbelievable, just 33 years. This guy should never see daylight again. I would lock him up with 10 male gorillas for life.

Jeff D April 21st, 2010 | 9:25pm

That sounds correct. 99 years, three of 33 each, served concurently as 33 years total - that is, if he survives a prison filled with men who do not like child molesters. He may not live very long.

jared April 21st, 2010 | 9:46pm

Why waste tax payer dollars on putting this guy in jail for that long. Let him be sodomized in prison for a week or two, then hook him to the chair.

went to a christian school with this guy, you'd never though this of him ,but he always was the different one in the group .He always seemed to be the GOD fearing type. All I can say is,he should have done to him what he did to these innocent children and still be made to serve all that time in prison not just 99 years.My prayers go out to the families that are havingto deal with this after all this time including TJ's family.

justbeinobjective April 22nd, 2010 | 9:41am

Wasabi and boooo!...unfortunately their crimes are not about sex, it's about control...so castration will only push them to sodomize with other objects. The only solution to protecting the next potential victim (IMHO_ is to put him away where he will never get out. This type of behavior is sadly almost never rehabilitated.

Well Now.... I agree, when the victims are children, they are discounted. If he had attacked an adult, things would be drastically different. Oh, and if he had stolen money, he would have been put UNDER the jail....

33 years is probably not enough. At his release age, 67, he will have to be watched very closely.

all of my help comes from the lord not small minded people you keep playing the race game not good for your heart.

Music Lover April 21st, 2010 | 5:54pm

Ã¢â?¬Å?I don’t think I”ve ever seen a case with this level of potential damage to children,” said the judge.

Yet, AMAZINGLY, the judge saw fit to suspend almost 75% of the sentences!!! 120 years is what you give somebody who has done "this level of potential damage to children," not 33. Of course, any sane and reasonable jurist would consider the damage to be quite real, not merely "potential."

HATEING SOMEONE CAUSE OF SKINS COLOR WILL NOT GET YOU TO HEAVEN MEAN TO TELL ME YOU PEOPLE SO SMART AND YOU CANT UNDERSTAND THAT GOD DONT CARE WHAT YOUR RACE HIS PEOPLE.

Donna April 29th, 2010 | 1:41pm

The hero of this story is the incredibly brave young man who came forward 20 years later. He has my respect, admiration, and empathy. HE stopped this monster, not the police or prosecutor or judge. Society owes HIM a huge debt of gratitude. I hope he gets every good thing in life that he deserves. I was molested by a close family friend and bravely told my mother when I was 10. I wasn’t supposed to tell, because predators are masters at making their victims feel complicit and ashamed. I was just angry and confused. My mother told me to just ignore the dirty old man when he came around the house, which was often, and that I wasn’t to ever say anything to my father. That betrayal was worse than the molestation. That’s when the shame set in, like I was just trying to cause trouble. This same man molested both of my sisters and several other young girls I knew and I’m sure many more I didn’t know. Many adults knew what he was doing, but no one stopped him. Neither I, nor any of his other victims ever got Ã¢â?¬Å?justice.” This unrepentant pedophile lived free and clear, married, employed, respected in his community, welcomed into my family’s home, until he died in his late 70’s. I am 50 now and it's haunted every aspect of my life. While I have had to pay in every way for my molester’s crimes, including therapy out of my own pocket, this piece of human detritus called Thomas Jefferson Race will receive room and board and health care and therapy on my and your and his victims’ taxpayers’ dime for 33 years. Disgraceful and disgusting. BTW, there is NO CURE, nor any effective treatment for pedophilia: aversion therapy; chemical or physical castration, etc. As someone else here posted, these Soulless Predatory Things never mellow and never lose the urge to violate. It’s not about sex, it’s about controlling someone’s mind and body against their will and instilling shame. The last time I saw my molester was in the kitchen of my parents’ home when I was 24. He was so crippled, he could barely walk. He still looked at me with the same predatory eyes as when I was 10. He looked at me like we shared an intimate, lovely secret. It made my skin crawl with disgust and fear. He was seeing the tender young girl he violated and smirking because he got away with it. All my rage and shame came flooding back. My father was chatting with him amiably as my mother prepared dinner, where my molester would be a guest of honor at the dinner table. I was able to flee my parents’ home that night, unlike I could when I was a child. But that memory is burned into my PTSD brain forever.

ken jamme April 26th, 2010 | 6:29pm

Should get a bullet to the back of the head

wasabi April 22nd, 2010 | 5:50am

This guy should be perscribed kazillion grams of anti libido drugs, & render him severly impotent that means NO SEX DRIVE.

well now.... April 21st, 2010 | 7:31pm

this is what happens when the victims of a crime are children. surviving children are routinely discounted by judges in our criminal justice system. this court is not the only local court to do such a disservice to children victims of crimes.

if these children were instead adults, this man would not see the light of day again.

**** April 21st, 2010 | 9:51pm

Would Judge Hogshire want this guy babysitting his grandchildren (or great-grandchildren) when he gets out at the age of 67? Or just hanging 'round the park where they play? 33 years for this guy is a disgrace. Lets hope that life in jail is as unpleasant for him as he's made it for his victims (x37+).

well now.... April 21st, 2010 | 9:38pm

no guys, read the article:

"As thunder rolled outside the courtroom, Judge Edward Hogshire sentenced Race to 40 years on each of the three counts, with all but 11 years suspended on each charge."

Most child molesters start at a young age. (early teens) A study of convicted child molesters in prison (after years of therapy)shows them molesting almost 3 times as many kids as they admitted to when they were first convicted......very sad.

Pink Observer April 23rd, 2010 | 11:28am

George Steppe, you poor soul. The man's last name is "Race". This is not a story about someone's skin color, but a sexual predator whose last name is "Race". The very first sentence of the article spells out his name for you: "Thomas Jefferson Race".

Yes, God loves and forgives, but please, oh please, read a little before you comment.

And if you have read this far, I'll say it again: his LAST NAME is "Race".

Have you had your child victimized by a pedophile? I have some news for you, sometimes they don't just sexually violate the child, they take pictures of the act and profit from that. If you dont think that warrants execution, your high.

Headies April 22nd, 2010 | 2:22pm

Deleted by moderator.

boooo! April 22nd, 2010 | 3:36pm

"Somebody!”ŠPhotoshop a pig-nose on this guy."

Why? A pig is an innocent animal that harms nobody and actually sustains millions of human lives, maybe even yours if you've ever eaten pork. Why insult pigs in that way by putting the image of their nose on a child molestor and animal torturer? Devil horns on top of his head might be a more fitting thing to add to this mug shot.

wow my poor soul i tell you this i try hard everyday to do the will of god i dont care if blk white yellow or red god dont care i was writing back to county farmer you judge my soul when i love all people.

take a step back from the holly water bro ... It was a mistake and an easy one to make when a person's last name is race . Its all good .

No harm no foul !

Now this guy is the EXACT reason this country has got to get serious about protecting our children from sexual predators . I cannot believe of all the petty legislation we have put to paper in this country we have not come up with a one strike federal law and NOTHING less . You sexually abuse a child and your off the streets for life . lets back off of some of the non violent petty reasons to lock people up and make room and money to keep animals like this freak out of society forever . I know I know I know we all scream about it all the time but nothing is happening . We just need to take a long hard look at our children , our neighbors kids your friends kids or your grandchildren and decide if one of them were sexually assaulted by this animal "race" would we accept that one strike is more than enough . I mean one strike is too many but we have to start somewhere .

How hard is it to pick 10 petty crimes on the books that cost million to enforce and reduce the charges and punishment and work on something that really matters like getting child predators off the street . The impact at what this man has done to these children will effect them for life and like a disease ultimately affect generations of kids whom turn into adults . Does that sound outlandish ? Harsh ? Think about how what has happened to these kids that will will affect them , future relationships and look and the impact unfold . The cost to society alone from the years it will take for this horror to heal if it ever does would cover the cost of putting this animal away for life . Even with that these animals would have to harm at least one child and get caught to try and eradicate these animals .

ONE strike for child predators is too many . It needs to stop at one !

KATIE May 24th, 2010 | 6:40pm

I know we all have our pet peeves out there - but mines is when Christian people i.e., protestant, catholic, etc., do not capitalize GOD. To me, God is the ultimate proper noun.
thanks, stepping off the box now. . sorry

pepper April 25th, 2010 | 10:19am

To bad sentence isn't longer. Research shows sex offenders do not mellow out and stop offending in their 60's like other aggressive offenders. They go on and on until they are physically incapable of catching, luring, or subduing their victims.

ken jamme April 26th, 2010 | 6:59pm

Well lets just say he's not worth the room and board

Scott Ruffner April 27th, 2010 | 9:11am

With regard to the length of the sentences and the suspension, I am curious about two things: first, isn't it often the case that significantly older offenders (generally violent) stop posing nearly the same risk of danger to the public? Second, given that the sentences are only suspended, it seems like they can be held over him for the rest of his life. Presumably, given his sex offender status, he'll be released into some kind of halfway house system where he is observed closely and the threat of a return to jail might be sufficient.

All this assumes that the 33 year sentence doesn't in itself wind up being a life sentence - I'm with GSOE, that's a LOT of days in prison, and prisons are not kind to sex offenders.

I'm really less interested in the blood lust vengeance so many of the comments seem to reflect than in mitigating/reducing the harm on society this guy poses. These types of offenders are not generally rehabilitated and society needs to protect itself from them - including protecting ourselves from the high costs of incarcerating (and providing health care for) an old man. We spend slightly more money on prisons than we do on higher education. I feel like a nice clean guilty plea and a minimum of judicial cost were well worth the sensible sentence Judge Hogshire handed down.

Angie April 28th, 2010 | 7:10pm

That is all the time he received.... They don't play that where I am from... Last case the guy received 196 years with no chance of parole... they need to give those sick perverts the death penalty... those poor kids have to leave with that sh*t forever.

yepper April 29th, 2010 | 2:05pm

Donna,

Thank you for your testimonial.

Sadly, when it comes to child sex abuse, your experience is more the norm than cases where the perpetrator gets caught. For centuries society as a whole willfully turned a blind eye to these crimes and still allows these criminals to enjoy their freedom.

Mothers that bring forward their child's accusations are themselves made targets by our juvenile court system. Social workers that witness disclosures with police officers present are alleged to be unreliable witnesses. Child sex abuse perpetrators are very careful, as you point out. Physical evidence is extremely rare. In cases where the perpetrator contests the allegation, convictions are extremely rare. Judges are too easily fooled.

The last few decades have seen an awakening to the pervasiveness and seriousness of these crimes. Those that continue to discount the danger to society posed by these criminals should not be in positions of responsibility in our criminal justice system. Sadly, our local courts and prosecutors have yet to catch up to the rest of us and continue to discount children as victims.

It is through the testimony of adults such as yourself that have survived these ordeals that people are waking up to reality. You should be proud.